Fire, ambulance building is a first in B.C. 3 / Annual bird count returns 16
the richmond
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RICHMONDREVIEW.COM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2013
40 PAGES
Cranberry worker’s death prompts use of life jackets
New jet fuel pipeline is for ‘community’s benefit,’ says YVR
Oct. 30 fatality on Cambie Road now under investigation by WorkSafeBC, coroner
Richmond council and citizens’ group considering their options by Matthew Hoekstra Staff Reporter
by Martin van den Hemel Staff Reporter The tragic death of a local cranberry worker in late October has led to changes in the farming industry aimed at making the workplace safer in the future. On Oct. 30, a worker for farm labour contractor Unique Labour Force had to be pulled to the side of a cranberry field at 16351 Cambie Rd. after sinking beneath the surface of about 2.5 feet of water. He was rushed to hospital, but died a few days later. The man had worked in the field for the past five years, in both wet and dry conditions, and he knew the lay of the land, according to Geraldine Auston, director of communications for the B.C. Cranberry Growers Association. She said the fields are marked, and workers are trained in safe practices. The tragedy led to a quick response from the industry and WorkSafeBC, which reminded cranberry farms of occupational health safety requirements: “A
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file photo Harvest time at one of Richmond’s cranberry farms.
worker who is employed under conditions which involve a risk of drowning must wear a personal flotation device (pfd) or lifejacket with sufficient buoyancy to keep the worker’s head above water.” While industry reaction was relatively swift, many unanswered questions remain as separate investigations by the B.C. Coroners Service—which takes about five months—and WorkSafeBC continue. Did the cranberry worker suffer a heart attack first, and then slip into the water? Or did slipping into the water trigger his heart attack which eventually proved fatal? And would a life jacket really have made a difference? Shortly after the fatality, the
tightly-knit cranberry industry was notified, and farmers scrambled to buy personal flotation devices for their workers. WorkSafeBC also conducted inspection blitzes not long after during the tail end of the cranberry harvest, which normally runs from the last week of September, and can extend to the middle of November in some places in B.C. According to a WorkSafeBC notification sent to the Farm and Ranch Safety and Health Association, the farm worker “was walking across a cranberry bog and stepped into an underwater cross-ditch. The worker called for help and sank beneath the surface. The other workers found the unconscious worker
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after five to 10 minutes.” According to a Richmond FireRescue report, the “Crestwood Fire Hall responded to an incident where a man had drowned in a cranberry field. Workers had pulled him to shore. On arrival, (Richmond Fire-Rescue) crews began to administer (cardio pulmonary resuscitation). RFR assisted (BC Ambulance Service) with patient care and a pulse was restored onsite.” Auston said the worker suffered a heart attack and he was revived at the scene and taken to hospital. “He did pass away a number of days later in hospital.” But the final cause of death remains under investigation. See Page 4
B.C.’s approval of a jet fuel pipeline in Richmond is an “important next step” in a project key to the growth of a global gateway airport and local employer, an airport executive said this week. “More than 23,000 people call YVR their workplace, including almost six per cent of working Richmond residents. Our shared success depends on a long-term, safe and secure jet fuel delivery system for YVR,” said Tony Gugliotta, the Vancouver Airport Authority’s vice-president of marketing and business development, in a blog post Monday. Gugliotta said the existing system of delivering jet fuel to the airport will not meet future demands. A pipeline that crosses through north Richmond to the Chevron refinery in Burnaby has long delivered jet fuel to the airport. The supply is supplemented by tanker trucks that transport fuel from a refinery in Cherry Point, Washington. On Dec. 12, Transportation Minister Mary Polak announced the province has issued an environmental assessment certificate for the $100-million project. Once the Vancouver Airport Fuel Facilities Corporation has all required permits, it will construct a new pipeline from Riverport to the airport. Oil tankers plying the waters of the Middle Arm will then deliver the fuel to a new tank farm at Riverport. The new system will allow the airport to continue operating “for the community’s benefit and contribute millions to the economy,” noted Gugliotta. See Page 4
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